Shiro Takasu

Shiro Takasu (27 October 1884-2 September 1944) was an Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.

Biography
Shiro Takasu was born in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan on 27 October 1884, and he graduated from the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy's 35th class alongside Nobutake Kondo and Naokuni Nomura. He graduated from the Naval Staff College in 1919, and he served as a military attache in the United Kingdom before taking command of the cruiser Isuzu in 1929. He was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1934 and became the head of Japanese naval intelligence, joining Isoroku Yamamoto and Mitsumasa Yonai's anti-Tripartite Pact faction of the navy due to his opposition to war with the western powers. Takasu commanded the 1st Carrier Division in the early stages of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and he was promoted to Vice Admiral in 1938 and was given command of the IJN 5th Fleet in 1939. On 15 September 1942, during World War II, he was given command of the Southwest Area Fleet, and he was later recalled to Japan and promoted to full Admiral in 1944. He died of sickness only two months later.